Red
by thekatthatbarks
Summary: Sakura leaves Obito alone with Sarada for just five minutes and comes back to learn that was a big mistake.


"I'm back!" Sakura yelled as she walked into the apartment carrying bags of takeout in her arms.

She heard dead silence in reply, which in a way was more worrisome than screaming. "Obito?" She called out as she walked to the kitchen but there was no answer. She felt apprehension creeping up her skin as she walked towards the living room with no sign of Obito or a small child.

Sakura had lived through a war and learned to deal with her own trauma as well as her loved ones. Not much surprised her and not much could startle a gasp out of her. But when she walked through the doorway, she felt her blood run cold and her feet stopped in her tracks like she'd stepped in cement.

She spotted Obito in the corner of the room madly scrubbing red off the floor and felt a slight relief. Her racing heart calmed a bit. "Obito?"

He froze at the sound of her voice and she guessed he must have been so focused he didn't hear her come in. He laughed nervously as he turned towards her. "Ahh, Sakura-chan, I thought –"

There must have still been a hint of fear in her face because he stopped midsentence and rushed over to her. He grabbed her shoulders gently and met her eyes. "Hey, it's just _paint_ , Sakura. See?" He held up a hand to her face and she could clearly smell the lead from the paint now.

Her anxiety quickly faded away replaced with a bubbling anger and her jaw clenched. She snapped at him as she spotted one splatter of red after the other as she looked around. "Our living room is _covered_ in red paint! How the actual hell did you manage to cause this much trouble in 5 minutes?!"

Obito wisely took a step back from her and Sakura's eyebrow twitched when his barefoot landed in a puddle of paint. He held up his hands in defense. "Hey! It was that _demon_ child's fault! Not mine!"

Sakura looked around, realizing the little girl wasn't there. She had slipped her mind since she'd been assured no one had been massacred in her apartment. She glared at Obito and held out her hands. "Sarada did this? You were supposed to be _watching_ her, moron! How could – _where is she_!?"

"She's in the bathtub." Obito pouted and then followed her as she started towards the bathroom. "I swear I only looked away for a second to grab a drink and then I came back – I don't even know where she got the paint from!"

Sakura huffed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's probably the paint Sai left here the other day ago."

"Oh, well –"

Sakura cut him off with a look as she opened the door to the bathroom. She was welcomed with giggles and the sound of splashes. When her eyes landed on the bathtub, sure enough, there was Sarada with smears of red in her hair playing in the water. Sakura sighed and knelt on the floor in front of her.

Sarada already knew she was in trouble before Sakura walked in if her teary eyes were anything to go by. "Sakura-basan! I just wanted color!"

Sakura reached beside her and grabbed the shampoo to start working it through Sarada's hair. "Sarada-chan, you color on _paper_ not on the walls or floors."

Sarada pouted and looked down, mumbling an excuse. "I didn't know where paper was."

Obito scoffed behind her and Sakura already had an idea of what she was going to be told later, especially when Sarada looked up to glare at him. Sakura held back a laugh, hoping Obito at least knew to not stick his tongue out back at her.

"You could have asked Obito-jisan. That's not excuse, Sarada, and I will be telling your parents about this when they get back from their mission."

Sarada whipped her head back to her with wide eyes just in time for Sakura to dump water on her. She blubbered through the water running down her face, "No! Don't tell!"

Sakura gave her a small smile. "I'll tell your Papa to not be too hard on you, okay?"

Sarada's pout deepened and she only gave her a small nod before letting Sakura finish bathing her.

Obito collapsed beside Sakura on the couch after putting Sarada to bed. "She's got you wrapped around her little finger, you know."

Sakura rolled her eyes and scoffed. "She does not."

Obito sighed and leaned his head on Sakura's shoulder. "Then, kids must just hate me. I swear she looked right into my eyes as she threw paint at the floor even after I told her to stop. It was like she knew _I'd_ get in trouble for it. She's way too smart and cunning for her age. It's no wonder she's Sasuke's."

Sakura laughed and leaned her head against his. "It's because they know you fear them. It gives them power."

"'M not scared of them," he muttered then picked his head up and pointed a finger at her. "But I am _never_ babysitting for Sasuke again!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Obito, you're _cousins_. It's like a family obligation to help with each other's kids."

"Well, you're _teammates_. Watch her by yourself next time or else she'll end up stringing me by my toes."

Sakura snorted and moved to lay her head on his lap. "My, what a brave and strong man I've fallen in love with. To fear _five-year olds_ , nature's most fearsome creatures."

Obito looked down at her with a faint blush on his cheeks, biting back a smile. He agreed with a nod. "They _are_."

Sakura laughed again, just trying to enjoy the moment and not think of the hell of a mess they'd have to clean tomorrow. Obito's hand fell to her stomach and he mindlessly began tapping a senseless rhythm into her skin. She'd closed her eyes and was sure she'd would've fallen asleep, if his voice hadn't brought her back to him.

"Do you think our kids will be little demons too?"

Sakura felt a warmth inside her stomach at the thought, even though she was nowhere near ready for her own children. She smiled and reached down to wrap her fingers around his without opening her eyes.

"They'll probably be even worse."

His resounding laugh made the whole mess seem just like another thing about life to laugh about.


End file.
